Should Game of Thrones Be Giving Us Exactly What We Want?

Cersei chose violence. Dressed in black armor, with a glass of wine in hand, she watched as her wildfire massacred all of her enemies. Arya chose violence. With a smile on her face, she fed Walder Frey's children to him, then slit his throat, getting revenge for the Red Wedding. Tommen chose a violent end to his own life, stepping away from his view of the smoldering remains of his wife and the Sparrows to set down his crown and throw himself out his window.

Problems on Game of Thrones are rarely, if ever, solved with diplomacy. It's what we've come to expect on Game of Thrones, along with a number of other plot developments. Cersei's firey vengeance, Jon Snow's true parentage—all of this was long speculated among fans for years. It's a show that has—throughout Season Six—delivered on everything the fans wanted. Jon Snow was brought back to life to defeat Ramsay Bolton in The Battle of the Bastards. Arya finished her training, killed the Waif, and began checking names off her list. After a long and aggrevating time in Meereen, Daenerys is finally sailing for Westeros with Tyrion at her side. Sansa got justice for the many horrors inflicted upon her by men. Hodor held that fucking door.

It's not like Game of Thrones to deliver the expected. What made this show such a phenomenon was its refusal to adhere to traditional fantasy narrative. But that can only go so far. You can't resolve a show with more loose ends. Some things need bows. Sure, it's disappointing to feel like fan theories are writing the conclusion of this series, but at least Game of Thrones is allowing them to play out using some beautiful storytelling: Note the silent opening sequence, building tension with an arresting score by composer Ramin Djawaid to set up Cersei's big moment. The triumphant scenes of Daenerys sailing alongside her dragons toward the future. And we'll discuss it all as we decide who was the least garbage person on Game of Thrones this week.

Cersei Lannister

Cersei of the house Lannister, First of her name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, protector of the Seven Kingdoms. All it cost her were the lives of all her children, the lives of hundreds (maybe thousands) of people, but here she is. Cersei sits on the Iron Throne. But how long will it last? As she completed her transition into super villain, Cersei gave a speech about doing what feels good. With nothing left to lose, Cersei is unpredictable, reckless, and evil. As Jaime watches the crown get placed on her head, he knows what he might have to do. The Kingslayer might become the Queenslayer. Can Jaime kill the only person he's ever loved? His own sister? And now that the Tyrells and Martells have created a Varys-brokered alliance with Daenerys, does Queen Cersei have the power to protect her crown?

Everyone Who Died In the Sept of Baelor

Tommen Baratheon

As dumb as this inbred little king was—stupidly joining the side of the High Sparrow—this poor kid had a tragic ending. Plus, he was far less dangerous on the throne than his mother will be.

The Mountain

I'm not sure what exactly The Mountain is, but good god, he's ugly.

Samwell Tarly

Game of Thrones's resident neck beard, Sam Tarly, found some books! While everyone else is off fighting wars, he'll be sitting in this library learning to become a Maester. Maybe he'll find something useful in those books!

Melisandre/Davos

With the ability to bring dead people back to life and all, Melisandre was mildly useful to have around. But other than that she did literally nothing. At least they got rid of her before she burned more innocent people alive.

Varys

Midway through tonight's episode, we see Varys in Dorne making an alliance between Ellaria Sand and Margeary's grandmother, Olenna Tyrell. But, then, in the last scene of the episode, we see him standing behind Daenerys and Tyrion on a boat on the other side of the world. Wut?

Sansa Stark

Learning to become a savvy political operative, Sansa has gotten Littlefinger to reveal his true intentions for the first time: He wants the Iron Throne. And he wants Sansa. She knows better than anyone that he can't be trusted, so what happens when she and her brother stand in his way?

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Daenerys Targaryen/Tyrion Lannister

Taking the advice of Tyrion, Daenerys cuts ties with her lover as she prepares to set sail for Westeros. This leads to a tender moment between her and Tyrion as she names him the Hand of the Queen. Finally, after being disrespected his entire life because of his height, Tyrion is getting some goddamn recognition for his brain. But Tyrion might have a bigger role to play: As you'll remember from earlier in the season, Tyrion seemed to be some sort of Dragon Whisperer. As one theory goes—and it seems like those are becoming more and more accurate—Tyrion might be a Targaryen. We'll get to Jon Snow's parentage in a bit, but this episode showed his mother die giving birth to him. The only other characters in the show with this in common are Daenerys and Tyrion. There are three dragons that need riders, after all...

Arya Stark

So it seems like Arya did learn something from those asshole Faceless Men. She learned how to mask herself Mission: Impossible-style to become an assassin. By killing Walder Fray (an homage to that Radiohead South Park episode? Probably not), Arya has crossed a name on her list. But who's left (that's still alive at this point)? Cersei, The Mountain, The Hound, Beric Dondarrion, and Thoros of Myr.

Bran Stark

After leaving us hanging in Episode Three, Bran Stark returned to the past and the Tower of Joy. Inside, he watched his father, Ned Stark, take custody of his sister's child. This child, the offspring of Lyanna Stark and (almost definitely) Rhaegar Targaryen, is Jon Snow. We discussed it at length last night, but this proves one of the major fan theories about Snow's parentage. So, does it feel like the fans are writing the Game of Thrones narrative? They predicted Snow's return, they predicted Cersei's fire, they predicted R+L=J. These pieces have been in place long before the books, it's only natural that when fans analyze a show as much as they do with Game of Thrones, they'll see these things coming. There's no point in writing something different, just to throw off fans. This is how Game of Thrones was expected to end, and the best showrunners can do is deliver in the most graceful way possible. Which is what they did here.

The Least Garbage Person on Game of Thrones this Week Is...

"But House Mormont remembers Obligatory Pepperidge Farm Remembers meme. The North remembers. We know no king but the King in the North whose name is Stark. I don't care if he's a bastard. Ned Stark's blood runs through his veins [Not true!]. He's my king, from this day until his last day!"

As goes the speech from 10-year-old Lyanna Mormont, when she declares Jon Snow King of the North. Not only is this an impressive monolog delivered with authority by the young actress, Bella Ramsey, the subtext of this scene foreshadows the tension of Season Seven. We've just learned that Jon Snow has both Stark and Targaryen blood. So when the leaders of the north declare him their king, they don't realize that he's entitled to much more than that. There's also Littlefinger standing silently in the corner. The only thing on his mind is to be where Snow is right now: Getting power with Sansa at his side. What will Littlefinger do to take that? There's also tension between Jon and Sansa—is she the rightful leader of Winterfell and the north? Does she feel like she deserved this?

While Season Six comes to a close, there are two queens and one king of the Seven Kingdoms, and dozens who want to take that power away. This major Snow twist may have been expected, as did Cersei's revenge, but both of these reveals came with subtle anxiety. We got what we wanted: Jon Snow is king of the north, but given the circumstances, this might mean doom for him. Whereas the Red Wedding and Ned's death were shots to the gut, capitalizing on emotion, Season Six ends with more muted tragedy. Most importantly, they didn't leave us with a major death to be debating for the next 10 months. Winter is finally here.

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